His Equal
by Kat Lee formerly Pirate Turner
Summary: Old feelings come rushing to the front again when Batman rescues Nightwing.  Slash.


Title: "His Equal"  
Author: Pirate Turner  
Rating: PG-13 for sexual references  
Summary: Old feelings come rushing to the front again when Batman rescues Nightwing.  
Warnings: Slash  
Word Count: 1,131  
Challenge: This fic was originally intended to be an answer to Fan Fic Land's weekly drabble challenge for 30 August, 2010, "In the shadows", but overshot the word limit.  
Date Written: 2 September, 2010  
Disclaimer: Bruce "Batman" Wayne and Dick "Nightwing" Grayson are & TM DC comics, none of which are the author, and are used without permission. Everything else is & TM the author. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.

He watched, fully captivated by his hero's every move, as his rescuer battled their nemesis who had gotten the drop on him and held him, chained, to lure the Bat into his trap. It wasn't the first time that he had been kidnapped. Indeed, it was far from it, but there was something different about this time.

Dick continued to watch the fight and struggle against the chains that bound him fast and secure in the shadows as memories of the years he'd spent with the wonderful man now giving his all to free him fluttered through his mind. When he'd first met him, he had been angry at him and the world for his parents' deaths, but as soon as that anger had began to subside and he had seen the man behind the mask for the caring, loving person he truly was, he had fallen head over heels for him. He hadn't realized the truth of his feelings for him at that time, however, of course, for he'd only been a boy.

Those feelings had grown into much more than mere hero worship the longer he had stayed with him, but as Bruce had continued to strive to keep him out of the thick of their battles and protect him, Dick had come to realize that he would never see him as a grown man. Sure, he said he loved him and treated him as an adult in their bedroom, but the battle scene was always an entirely different story. His continual desire to protect him had forced Dick to accept that he could never be his equal in Bruce's eyes. Of course, no one else would ever be his equal, either, but that had not been what he had wanted.

He had told Bruce that he was tired of living in his shadow, and in a way, he had been and still was. He wanted to walk beside him, both in the light of day and in the shadows of the night, as his lover and his equal. Their loving union had turned into a constant war, and there hadn't been a night that had gone by without a heated argument. Dick had finally done the hardest thing he'd ever had to do - and the one thing that he'd spent every moment regretting since he had walked away from the man he loved. He still loved Bruce. He would always love him. He just couldn't live with him when he continued to refuse to see him as the man he had become and not merely who he loved and felt he had to protect.

Yet, now, again, he had had to allow Bruce to come to his rescue, and his heart was soaring once more as he watched him battle to save his life. Bruce trumped the villain, as Dick had known he would even at the very moment that he had been ensnared by the villain's trickery, and after he had tied him up securely and hung him like a thrust-up turkey to await the police, Bruce swiftly closed the distance between them, the cape of his Batman suit swirling around his long, muscular legs.

Dick's heart thundered in his chest as their eyes met, and he was reminded again of how infinitely much he loved this incredible man. He just couldn't be his sidekick any longer, he reminded himself, and even though he loved him, Bruce would always see him only as the younger man whose love filled his heart but who still needed his protection. He would never, could never, be his equal. Dick shivered as Bruce gently ran his hand over his handsome face and thought, for the first time in a very long, if perhaps that was really as bad as it sounded.

"I'm sorry," Bruce whispered softly, his blue eyes gazing down into the deep, rich pools of the man he would always love. Dick needed his protection, even if he was too stubborn to admit it, and he would always have it and his love. He could not help loving the younger man with all his heart and soul, though he'd tried countless times in the belief that stopping the love he felt for him and sending him away from him would keep him safe.

Dick's rapid heartbeat now resonated like a passionate drum through his head. He found he could scarcely breathe with Bruce's gloved hand softly caressing his face and sending thrills shooting through his whole being, thrills stronger and more delicious than any he'd ever felt before save at his beloved's administrations. "For . . . " He swallowed hard and licked his lips. "For what?"

Bruce paused, caught in the moment, and almost told him the truth. He almost told him that he was sorry for chasing him away and for not accepting him as the wonderful, strong, and breathtakingly handsome man he had transformed into before his very eyes. He almost told him that he had been wrong, but he knew that Dick would never understand that they had both been wrong, he to refuse his being his equal and Dick for leaving in a fit of fury and destroying everything they'd had, even if it had not been enough to appease him. He almost told him, but then he hushed his questioning by placing his lips with a firm gentility upon his own.

Passion and love surged through Dick, and he trembled in Bruce's hands. This was what he had been waiting for ever since he'd left him. This, Bruce's coming to him and still loving him, was what he had dreamed of every time he'd been granted good sleep since walking away from him. This, he realized, as Bruce slid his tongue masterfully into his mouth and sparked a sweetly heated duel with his own, perhaps too willing tongue, was what made life worth living.

Maybe he had been a young, arrogant fool. Maybe it was worth living his whole life inside Batman's shadow to be with the man he loved. Maybe he had wasted these years away from him. Maybe he had been the one in the wrong, the one who had made the mistake that had nearly completely destroyed his life and had surely filled his heart, soul, and mind, his whole being, with endless torture since he'd been apart from the man he loved. Maybe being in Batman's shadow was exactly where he belonged, and then Dick knew it was as his love silently undid his chains and took him fully into his arms. It was where he belonged for it was with him, and it was, he thought as they ravished each other in the soaring flights of love, exactly where he would stay as long as he let him.

**The End**

Author's Note: If you enjoyed this story, or any of my other writings, I hope you'll consider joining my brand new fan fic land comm - /FanFicLand - where four teams compete with weekly drabble challenges and monthly longer fic challenges to see who can reach 5,000 points first!


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